Egypt calls for UN investigation into incident with ship carrying arms to Libya

Cairo has demanded an international investigation into the incident with a ship carrying explosives from Turkey to Libya despite the arms embargo, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

On January 6, Greek authorities seized a Tanzanian-flagged freighter Andromeda carrying explosives from Turkey to Libya. The vessel with eight crew members on board was escorted to the port of Heraklion on Crete island.

"The diplomatic missions in the member states of the UN Security Council [UNSC], the permanent mission of Egypt [at UN headquarters in New York] have been tasked with verifying this information and demanding the UNSC commission on anti-Libyan sanctions to investigate the incident in line with Libya's request," a ministry's spokesman said.

Libya has been banned from importing arms by a UN Security Council resolution adopted in 2011.